mvschwarz/openrig

A harness wraps a model. A rig wraps your harnesses. Define your agent team in YAML, boot it with one command. Claude Code and Codex in the same rig, managed as one system.

OpenRig is open-source software for building and running your own network of agents. It turns AI coding agents from a pile of terminal sessions into a persistent, organized team. Talk to a lead agent about the outcome you want; it can coordinate specialists across teams and bring you results and decisions that need your attention. Start with a repository and one useful change, then keep the team's work and context at the same addresses.

It's the open-source system behind my AI civilization experiments.

Guide: Getting started · Stuck? Help · Questions: Q&A · Updates and demos: @_feralmachine on X

Start here: the guided first-use path: install, talk to the kernel operator, then choose a team for your first useful change.

Not setting this up today? Get the next walkthrough and occasional OpenRig updates → https://openrig.dev/follow

Requires Node.js 22 or 24 and tmux, on macOS or Linux. On Linux, the distribution's own Node.js can be older (Ubuntu 24.04's is 18); install a supported version with nvm (nvm install 22) or NodeSource. On a Mac with Apple silicon, use Node.js 22 (compatibility history). On Windows, use WSL2, the Windows route OpenRig supports; native Windows isn't supported. OpenRig's automated tests don't run on WSL2 yet; see one user's working setup. Launching a rig writes provider hooks and workspace trust settings. Before running the commands below, read what OpenRig changes on your machine and back up the relevant files.

One command. This runs OpenRig's install script from the v0.6.8 release. It checks Node.js and npm, installs the latest published @openrig/cli with npm install -g, runs the Node.js and SQLite check, then runs rig setup --dry-run and rig setup. The first line prints that plan and changes nothing:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mvschwarz/openrig/v0.6.8/scripts/install.sh | sh -s -- --dry-run
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mvschwarz/openrig/v0.6.8/scripts/install.sh | sh

If a provider isn't signed in yet, the last step reports FAILED [4/4], and rig setup lists the sign-in under "Some steps need attention". If the only remaining failures are provider sign-ins, the install steps finished; sign in to each selected provider as below and continue.

Or step by step:

npm install -g @openrig/cli
rig setup --dry-run

To install with Bun instead, run bun add -g @openrig/cli. OpenRig still runs on Node.js, so install Node.js 22 as well. Bun may block this package's postinstall script, in which case the Node.js and SQLite check described under what OpenRig changes on your machine does not run at install time.

npm 11 and later can skip that postinstall script and print npm warn install-scripts naming @openrig/cli. That's expected: the CLI still works, and only the Node.js and SQLite check was skipped. To run it yourself, use node "$(npm root -g)/@openrig/cli/scripts/check-abi.mjs"; rig doctor checks the Node.js version only.

Choose the working account you already have: Claude Code, Codex, or both. Reuse an explicit choice; no second subscription is required. rig setup --dry-run previews the broader setup; applying rig setup checks both harnesses and installs a missing one, plus Herdr unless declined with --no-herdr. Pass the choice with --providers claude or --providers codex so the other reads not selected instead of failed. The one-command install above doesn't know the choice, so it installs and checks both; for one provider, go step by step and run rig setup --providers <choice>. On macOS, the installing agent offers Ghostty once. Setup leaves an existing cmux installation alone. It is optional for the selected-provider path.

A team seat with no permission policy, per-seat choice or (for Codex) named profile launches with OpenRig's team default: Claude runs ordinary rig commands, project reads and common tests without prompting, while lifecycle commands such as rig up and rig down still ask; Codex also gets the OpenRig workspace and its pod's state directory as writable directories. Before launching, your agent recommends keeping that default, and offers to remember selected OpenRig commands in your native settings only if you want that, at personal project scope unless you explicitly choose user-wide sessions. It is not global YOLO or permission to invent work. On Yes, the agent adds and verifies native rules; No or no answer keeps the team default and leaves settings unchanged. An existing explicit choice is reused. Say “Undo the OpenRig command allowances added by this setup” to remove only its additions.

If permission prompts are slowing you down, consider the workshop bundle. It ships with broad access and non-interruptive mode: its agents bypass permission prompts and supported harness warning dialogs. The listing and before-install view explain that access before you choose it.

Check tmux -V and only your selected CLI/login: claude --version plus claude auth status, or codex --version plus codex login status. If needed, sign in once with claude auth login or codex login; do not install or log in to an unused provider.

After installing, your agent opens the OpenRig TUI and the operator for you. To get back to them later, ask your agent for OpenRig or your agents in any words. After checking the selected login, it runs:

rig daemon start  # if stopped
rig terminal open saved:kernel --window

--window opens a new terminal tab or window itself, or a space in your current Herdr session. Below 120 measured columns, the operator fills the first page; from 120, the dashboard and operator share it equally. The advisor has a separate tab or tmux window. An installing agent can run it from its shell on the daemon's desktop; the person copies nothing. It uses Herdr when installed, otherwise the same layout in plain tmux, and preserves existing conversations. rig tui is the team dashboard. Installation is finished when you are talking to the operator; if you choose to talk later, that handoff remains pending.

If setup stops, read the named step: missing tools and selected-provider logins need their specific setup action. A harness permission rule, sandbox or automatic permission decision can also block the installing agent's command. The agent should name the command and reported reason, then help you resolve that specific step within your chosen permissions. A permission refusal is not an OpenRig installation result.

The desktop may need an Automation approval; SSH/headless sessions may have no display. Herdr can show first-run panels, and an 80×24 window can cramp the view. Follow the OpenRig view checks and next steps. Herdr is visible only inside a terminal you can see. Changing the shared TUI to :terminals does not open that terminal. The agent checks the visible window when it has desktop access and says what it could not verify otherwise. Over headless SSH, it asks you to open a new terminal window or tab and gives the exact connection and attachment command for the current view. If you choose a manual attachment after a failure, ask the installing agent for the exact command using your current operator session; run that in a new terminal window.

The kernel's operator helps you pick a first team. It asks what you want to build, recommends one of three, and fits it to the providers you have.

As shipped, starter uses both Claude Code and Codex. With only one of them, ask the kernel operator to adapt it: it writes a copy of the team for your providers under the same name. The naming guide explains how their pods and roles grow and how to name your own team. first-project is starter's old name and still starts it, unless you already have a rig named first-project or starter: then it refuses and names the rig up <name> --existing command that brings that rig back. Show the selected runtime, configured model and command before launch; confirm the account supports the model instead of silently falling back. The kernel starts automatically and selects from available authenticated providers independently of these teams. A missing unused provider is not a setup requirement.

To launch the starter yourself instead (the manual path, without the operator):

cd /path/to/your/repository
rig specs preview starter --kind rig
rig up starter --cwd . --plan
rig up starter --cwd .

To see your agents, use rig terminal open saved:kernel --window. If that window cannot open, rig tui --shared is the named dashboard-only fallback; it does not show the operator conversation. The installing agent should resolve or explain the window failure, not finish by suggesting a command for you to type. Closing a viewing terminal does not mean you should relaunch the team.

Check project-seat readiness with rig ps --nodes --rig starter and resolve any authentication, trust or permission prompt before assigning work. If a seat stopped at such a prompt before its startup context arrived, rig ps shows the rig seat continue <seat> command that delivers it once the prompt is answered. Then give the builder one bounded outcome from your repository:

rig send dev-build@starter 'Implement <one useful change>. Track the task in the queue and return its ID. Keep it local, verify the behavior, ask dev-review in this rig to check the exact candidate, and record the result and how I can try it.'
rig queue list --destination dev-build@starter --limit 1000

Sending a message does not itself create a queue item; the builder records the task. Read the final artifact and the review of its exact candidate, then return to the same builder for the next change. The guided first-use path covers readiness, a useful task, a reviewed result, Herdr/cmux terminals and recovery.

Not setting this up today? Get the next walkthrough and occasional OpenRig updates → https://openrig.dev/follow

• Questions: Discussions › Q&A
• Bugs and feature requests: open an issue
• Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md · Code of Conduct · Security policy · Getting help
• Videos: youtube.com/@openrig
• Releases: GitHub Releases and npm @openrig/cli

We aim to acknowledge issues and pull requests within one day; see CONTRIBUTING.md for review targets.

OpenRig writes instance state, provider integration and workspace files as part of setup and operation. These include trust settings and executable hooks. The summary below follows this source revision; check rig --version when using a published package, since repository guidance can be ahead of npm.

The provider files are separate from instance state. Here ~ means the daemon user's home; changing OPENRIG_HOME alone does not isolate provider configuration.

• Claude Code: startup writes workspace trust and onboarding completion. With an explicit permission mode, it uses the launch-selected HOME/.claude.json, or <CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR>/.claude.json when that variable is set. Classic startup writes HOME/.claude.json, and also <CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR>/.claude.json when the daemon has that variable set. In the workspace, .claude/settings.local.json receives the context collector's statusLine command and selected activity hooks; the collector script lives under .openrig/, and the activity-hook relay under the instance's state/claude-activity-hooks/. Selected settings/MCP resources can also change that settings file and .mcp.json. The shared settings resource sets permissions.defaultMode to acceptEdits and enables Exa/Context7 MCP entries; selected MCP resources configure those external services. Built-in bootstrap no longer writes a command allowlist to ~/.claude/settings.json or removes older allowances. CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR does not relocate the project-local writes.
• Codex: writes the daemon's CODEX_HOME/config.toml (normally ~/.codex/config.toml). Startup enables hooks, adds the OpenRig activity relay commands and pre-writes trust hashes for those commands. Seat startup adds trust_level = "trusted" for the workspace; selected config resources can add MCP settings. Managed launches pass -c check_for_update_on_startup=false, which writes no config; a recognized update notice that still appears can be skipped, recording the skipped version in Codex's cache; this is not an update install.

Activity relays send event type/subtype, seat/runtime identity, timestamps and native session identity to the configured OpenRig daemon's /api/activity/hooks endpoint, using its activity token. That payload excludes prompt text and tool arguments. Claude's collector writes context/token usage, session/transcript-path metadata and available rate-limit data to the instance's state/context-usage and state/provider-usage. Provider and selected MCP connections have their own data flows. Daemon plugin initialization also checks the OpenRig plugin release endpoint on GitHub.

Managed launches supply HOME, CODEX_HOME and OPENRIG_* identity/connection variables. Claude uses --permission-mode acceptEdits and defaults to the classic renderer for terminal scrollback. Codex uses -s workspace-write unless a named profile governs its sandbox; the default does not force an approval-policy flag. On that plain launch OpenRig first asks Codex for its own configuration and adds -c sandbox_workspace_write.network_access=true only when Codex answers that no configuration layer sets network access and no managed requirement could restrict it, so the seat can reach the local daemon. If Codex can't be asked or doesn't answer in time, the launch is left unchanged. Fresh Codex launches also add writable access to the workspace's .git and the pod's shared queue-state directory with --add-dir; the shared root comes from OPENRIG_SHARED_DOCS_ROOT or ~/.openrig/shared-docs. A team seat with no permission policy, per-seat choice or (for Codex) named profile also gets the per-launch team default: Claude gets --settings allowing ordinary rig commands, project reads and common tests, with a session-only PreToolUse hook that asks before lifecycle commands, and Codex also gets the OpenRig workspace root as a writable directory. Neither writes a permission file. Seats of the rig named kernel launch with an operational default instead, unless a permission policy, a per-seat choice or (for Codex) a named profile applies: Claude in acceptEdits with a per-launch allow list for its file tools, web fetches and operational commands (including reads under your home folder), and Codex with -s danger-full-access -a never. Neither writes a permission file. YOLO is off by default. An explicitly selected full-bypass policy selects Claude's --dangerously-skip-permissions or Codex's -s danger-full-access -a never. The legacy environment-only OPENRIG_YOLO=1 path, with no policy attached, selects Claude's bypass flag, Pi's --approve and Codex's -s danger-full-access without -a never; a resolved policy overrides that environment setting. The builtin:auto policy launches Claude with --permission-mode auto; Codex and Pi seats launch as they do without a policy (a named Codex profile still governs its sandbox, and Pi keeps its configured resource trust). --non-interruptive on rig up or rig bundle install additionally passes per-launch flags to full-bypass seats so Claude's bypass warning and Codex's full-access and GPT-5.1 migration notices don't stop startup; it writes nothing to their settings files and is saved on the rig. See non-interruptive mode.

Permission mode controls native execution permissions; work posture is separate project guidance. Use rig policy permissions list|show|current|apply for rig policy configuration (the four rig policy aliases remain compatible). Use rig seat set-permissions <seat> --mode <mode> --reason <text> for an audited future-launch choice: floor, full_bypass, or inherit to clear the seat override. Additional Claude modes such as auto require support from the exact managed Claude executable at the seat's working directory; selection and launch each check it. Unsupported or changed contexts refuse without a fallback. This does not relaunch the seat or change its current native process, history, rules or hooks. rig seat status separates the desired selection from the last launch arguments; neither proves native enforcement. See the permission guide.

Managed hook blocks target OpenRig's entries and retain unrelated hooks, but trust entries, selected resource keys and Claude's existing status-line command can be replaced. Some writers recover unreadable settings as empty objects; this is not a complete preservation or rollback guarantee. Back up relevant files before first use. Daemon/bootstrap writes are automatic and do not each have an interactive preview; rig setup --dry-run does not preview every later startup effect.

OpenRig is a multi-agent harness — it manages the system that coding agents form when you run them together. Not the agents themselves, but the team they create: which sessions are running, how they relate, how to recover after a reboot, and how to stop it from becoming terminal sprawl.

• Define topologies in YAML (RigSpec) with pods, edges, and continuity policies
• Boot everything with rig up — tmux sessions, harnesses, startup files, readiness checks
• See rigs, pods, and seats in the TUI topology table and graph; inspect projects, specs, feeds, and instance health
• Discover existing Claude Code and Codex sessions in tmux and adopt them into a managed rig
• Snapshot the topology with rig down --snapshot, restore by name with rig up <name>
• Communicate across agents with rig send, rig broadcast, and rig chatroom
• Protect a seat where you type by hand: rig seat set-typing-guard <seat> --enabled true --reason <text> holds automatic messages and wakes instead of typing them into that seat (off by default; see rig seat set-typing-guard --help)
• Connect Slack through an app you create in your own workspace; the experimental rig slack manifest prints that app's manifest (setup guide)
• Evolve running topologies with rig grow, rig shrink, rig launch, rig remove

Every agent runs in a tmux session you can attach to, inspect, and work with directly.

Three teams grow with you, and the kernel operator helps you pick one:

• starter: a builder and a reviewer for one bounded change.
• workshop: a lead, a builder, QA and a reviewer for ongoing work in one repository. It's a rig bundle, installed from its pinned listing.
• factory: seven agents (a lead, an advisor, build, QA, design and two independent reviewers) for sustained product work. You bring ideas to the advisor, and the lead runs the team.

rig specs preview factory --kind rig
rig up factory

Specialist teams: code-review (two independent reviews), research (an analyst and a synthesizer) and pm (a product lead, a researcher and a builder for prototypes).

Also built in: secrets-manager, a HashiCorp Vault instance run by a specialist agent.

Browse the library:

rig specs ls

OpenRig is a local daemon + CLI + terminal UI + MCP server, built on tmux. The older React web UI remains in maintenance mode with best-effort support.

CLI / TUI / MCP
      |
Hono HTTP daemon
      |
  Domain services
      |
  SQLite + tmux + runtime adapters

• CLI: Commands for both humans and agents to launch teams, inspect state, send messages, track owned work, and manage context.
• TUI: Topology explorer, table and graph views, seat details, Specs, Projects, Terminals, Feed, and System. Navigate with the keyboard, mouse, or command bar.
• MCP: Tools so agents can manage their own topology (rig_up, rig_ps, rig_send, rig_chatroom_send, etc.)
• Runtimes: Native Claude Code and Codex sessions, terminal nodes, and Pi and Oh My Pi via RPC runners.

The TUI shows the team's coordination state; herdr and cmux show the actual agent terminals alongside it. Use rig tui commands to list the TUI's command-bar navigation, or try the interactive TUI tour.

Captured from the interactive TUI demo using fictional project data.

With herdr installed and connected, open the starter's terminals together:

rig terminal open starter --provider herdr

For cmux, use --provider cmux. In the TUI, a rig's detail view has an Open terminals ▸ rig <name> link that opens a terminal view of the running seats of that rig (in a new window or tab, or the current Herdr session), laid out with herdr when installed, otherwise plain tmux; with herdr that is up to 16 seats per tab, in a workspace named after the rig. A seat it can't attach is reported as absent or degraded. The underlying sessions remain accessible through tmux. See the terminal workspace guide for setup and returning to an existing view.

• RigSpec: Declarative multi-agent harness definition in YAML. Pods, members, edges, continuity policies, culture file.
• AgentSpec: Reusable agent blueprint with skills, guidance, hooks, profiles, and startup contracts.
• Seat: A stable role and address in a rig, such as dev-build@starter. The conversation occupying it can change while its identity and authored context remain.
• Pod: A group of related seats with shared guidance and context. Each agent still has its own context window.
• Discovery: rig discover fingerprints existing tmux sessions. rig adopt brings them under management.
• Snapshot/Restore: rig down --snapshot captures full state. rig up <name> restores from latest snapshot. Restore reports per-node outcomes: resumed, fresh-primed, awaiting-decision (the original conversation can't resume; choose --fresh), attention_required, or failed.
• RigBundle: Portable archive with vendored AgentSpecs and SHA-256 integrity. Share topologies across machines. rig up, rig bundle create, inspect and install also take a GitHub folder link, rig bundle check checks a folder before you share it, and rig bundle inspect shows what a bundle will do before you install it. See publishing a rig bundle.
• Culture: A rig's CULTURE.md (its culture_file) sets coordination norms for the group, on top of OpenRig's default culture, which every seat receives.

A rig can package actual software alongside the agents that manage it. The shipped example is secrets-manager: a HashiCorp Vault instance operated by a specialist agent.

rig up secrets-manager
rig env status secrets-manager
rig send vault-specialist@secrets-manager "Check Vault health and report status." --verify

Requires Docker for service-backed rigs.

For an existing installation, follow the upgrade procedure and the 0.5.14 release notes; notes for later releases are in CHANGELOG.md. Preserve live seats during the upgrade; rig down is not an upgrade step. Upgrading to 0.6.0 also requires Node.js 22 or 24: see Moving off Node 20 and the 0.6.0 release notes.

OpenRig 0.6.0 supports Node.js 22 and 24 only. Its SQLite binding (better-sqlite3 13) requires Node 22 or newer. Node 20 is no longer supported; the install check refuses it with an explanation.

If you run OpenRig on Node 20, switch Node first, then reinstall the CLI under the new Node (a version manager keeps a separate global package set for each Node):

nvm install 22          # or 24; fnm or your package manager work the same way
npm install -g @openrig/cli
rig --version

Your existing OpenRig data stays where it is. The daemon reopens the same database under the new binding and applies any pending migrations in place. Restart the daemon under the new Node by following the upgrade procedure above.

The migration below still applies when upgrading from a pre-0.5.9 instance.

0.5.9 makes $OPENRIG_HOME/context the addressable context library, writes Claude telemetry to state/context-usage (and provider telemetry to state/provider-usage), and installs the default System World at context/system/system-world.yaml. Existing instances cross this boundary by an Agent-Operated Migration from the shipped openrig-upgrade skill. The target runtime reads canonical-first with legacy-fallback while new writes use the canonical roots; a custom context-library root stays stable during activation. This is not a directory rename to do while an old collector writes.

# SKILL_DIR is the installed openrig-upgrade skill directory.
node "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/migrate-telemetry-state-0.5.9.mjs" --help
node "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/migrate-telemetry-state-0.5.9.mjs" --home "$OPENRIG_HOME"
node "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/migrate-telemetry-state-0.5.9.mjs" --home "$OPENRIG_HOME" --apply-state --preimage /safe/path/layout-0.5.9-before

# Activate the exact target runtime separately. After every bounded legacy tail is followed by newer paired samples at both new state roots:
node "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/migrate-telemetry-state-0.5.9.mjs" --home "$OPENRIG_HOME" --verify --preimage /safe/path/layout-0.5.9-before > /safe/path/layout-0.5.9-verify.json

# Run the separately invoked non-destructive finalizer only with that exact receipt:
node "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/migrate-telemetry-state-0.5.9.mjs" --home "$OPENRIG_HOME" --apply-library --preimage /safe/path/layout-0.5.9-before --verification /safe/path/layout-0.5.9-verify.json

# Restore only helper-owned preparation/finalizer effects if the observed upgrade must be reversed:
node "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/migrate-telemetry-state-0.5.9.mjs" --home "$OPENRIG_HOME" --rollback /safe/path/layout-0.5.9-before

--help prints the phase grammar without inventorying the instance. No phase flag intentionally runs the read-only plan; unknown options fail nonzero before plan or mutation.

Every phase emits JSON. Stop on any issue or incomplete receipt and follow its next action; do not continue from copied legacy telemetry or retry a partial mutation blindly. Preparation leaves legacy state and collector settings in place. Verification accepts exact tail bytes only when that same seat has newer paired context and provider samples under state/; finalization revalidates the accepted tails, copies the library without overwrite, and switches config last. The helper never removes the legacy telemetry or library. Retirement follows separate stable runtime, writer, reader, and recovery proof. Daemon, database, seat, plugin, and release lifecycle actions remain agent-owned.

• Node.js 22 or 24 (the supported versions in this release). Node 20 is no longer supported. Node 26 and other versions are untested. On a Mac with Apple silicon, use Node.js 22: see the compatibility history.
• tmux
• macOS or Linux. On Windows, use WSL2, the Windows route OpenRig supports; native Windows isn't supported. OpenRig's automated tests don't run on WSL2 yet; one user's working setup is in the getting-started guide

Optional:

• herdr or cmux for terminal workspaces showing the agents together
• Docker for service-backed rigs and managed apps

• rig setup attempts core machine preparation: it installs a missing Claude Code or Codex and writes tmux defaults. It installs Herdr by default on macOS and Linux; use --no-herdr if you decline it. On macOS it also installs a missing tmux with an existing Homebrew; elsewhere install tmux yourself (setup only checks it). On a Mac, the installing agent offers Ghostty once; accepting uses rig setup --ghostty, and declining leaves Terminal.app available. Existing cmux settings are preserved. It reports what it tried and what actually succeeded. If something fails, it gives the local agent enough context to finish the job.
• rig setup --full attempts a broader operator workstation setup (jq, gh, via Homebrew, so macOS only) on top of core.
• rig doctor inspects current system health and helps diagnose problems after setup. Use it when something stops working or after machine changes. It shares setup's local provider login checks. These do not prove provider acceptance or a working agent; also inspect rig ps --nodes --rig <rig>.

Both commands support --json for agent-driven workflows.

Before setup or managed launch, review what OpenRig changes on your machine, including provider trust, hooks and selected runtime resources.

Already-running adopted sessions may need restart before they pick up newly written runtime config.

For agents: First ask which available provider(s) the user wants, reusing an explicit choice, and pass it to setup (rig setup --providers claude, codex or both). Recommend the working account they already have and follow the selected-provider guide above. Offer core setup (rig setup) or the fuller workstation path (rig setup --full) only when they want those additional tools. Inspect the result with --json and use rig doctor to finish any remaining machine-specific issues. Starting OpenRig and opening its view are the last steps of installing, not extras, so do them without stopping to ask whether to go on: start the daemon if it is stopped, open the OpenRig TUI and operator for them (say so, then run rig terminal open saved:kernel --window --json; no commands for the person to copy), and hand the person's goal and project folder to the kernel operator (installing-agent handoff). Installation is finished when the person is talking to the operator; don't implement the project yourself. When OpenRig itself misbehaves, read docs/reference/help.md (installed agents can run rig context get help; the same text is at openrig.dev/help/agents): it covers the next step, known problems, and how to reach the team if you're still stuck.

OpenRig is open source and self-hosted, with Claude Code and Codex in the same team. You operate it on your own infrastructure; the selected providers' model usage costs still apply.

Full comparison

• Website: openrig.dev
• Docs: openrig.dev/docs (documentation index for agents)
• Blog: openrig.dev/blog · Why I Built OpenRig
• Open Specification: openrig.dev/specs
• Videos: youtube.com/@openrig
• X: @_feralmachine
• Follow the project: openrig.dev/follow

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